A little everyday chit chat around the table...like we all used to do around my Grandmothers' tables when I was growing up. A little of this...a little of that...nothing too special...but as the years pass, all of it seems so. Come, sit at the Table, contribute, enjoy, stay as long as you want, leave when you need to, and return often!

Who's Who

Blog Along Groups - Eating Italian and Cooking Italy

May 03, 2010

The recipes for the Cooking Italy group I chose to make this week are Lamb Chops Fried in Parmesan Batter, found on page 412, Fusilli with Peas, Bacon, and Ricotta Sauce, found on page 163, and Asparagus Salad, found on page 557 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

All of the recipes were uncomplicated and the directions were easy to follow. The flavors were outstanding in all of the recipes. I made them as specified in the book, changing just the amount of oil that I pan-fried the lamb chops in as I figured I could do with a lot less oil, and the results were wonderfully non-greasy, so I was pleased with that outcome. The flavor that the thin crust gives the lamb chops was delightful.

I have decided that when the author says that a pasta dish "Serves Four," that I can count on it serving eight, even with my guys...the pasta portions in this book are huge. (Of course, that just means I have a head start on another meal this week.)

I decided to lightly steam the asparagus as that is how we like it, rather than boiling it in water. I did use the dressing that is specified in the book and served it at room temperature as directed. It was very good, and a nice change to eat it as a salad like this.

All in all, a wonderful meal and one we will repeat.

If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

April 10, 2010

The recipe for the Cooking Italy group I chose to make this week isFocaccia with Fresh Rosemary, found on pages 618-620 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

I have made Focaccia before, in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge, and while it took me forever to talk myself into that recipe (it was like 9 pages long), I finally did it, absolutely loved it, and have never ever tasted any Focaccia that I have liked as well as that recipe. So, it was with a great deal of gusto that I could not wait to undertake the recipe from this book and see how it would perform.

First of all, I really enjoyed the kneading technique that she describes in the book. It is just a little different from my usual style and I enjoyed the cadence of it very much. That said, I didn't enjoy the final product as much as the BBA one. This one was not light and fluffy like the other, did not impart the same wonderful deep flavors, melt in my mouth, etc.I am wondering if the denseness of the bread was because of the flour that I used. I used a regular all-purpose flour as there was not a particular kind specified in the book. I am also thinking that perhaps the original recipe used Italian flour which is a bit softer than our flour, and that if I had managed to get ahold of that flour, that the results would have been much different. (Never underestimate the power of flour...if I have learned anything from baking, that would be front and center. All flour is not created equal.)

The guys liked the bread and ate multiple pieces of it, saying how wonderful it was, so perhaps it is just me: but, that Peter Reinhart Focaccia recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprenticeis the BEST I have ever had.

Am going in search of Italian flour to give Hazan's recipe another chance, however. She has been so great at all the recipes I have made from this book, that surely the error must be mine. Eager to see how the others in the group made out on this one.

If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

March 26, 2010

The recipes for the Cooking Italy group I chose to make were Roast Chicken with Lemon, found on pages 325 and Braised Leeks, found on page 452 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Can you stand another chicken recipe on this blog? I can't help it, we love a roasted chicken here and I never tire of trying new recipes just to see if it is better than the last one. So far, I can't say that any of them are better than the others, they all have their points of love, but I keep looking, and in the meantime, there's just a wonderful array of roast chicken recipes that are all worth making. Marcella's recipe is wonderful! (The picture shows a lovely roasted bird, except that part of the skin was dislodged as I had trouble turning it over because this was the largest chicken ever, like five pounds {which is the sort of thing that happens when husbands run to the store for chicken}, and that's not supposed to happen, so you will do better than I did here on my first attempt, I am sure, and not have part of the skin lurking elsewhere.)

I love the technique as you add no fat whatsoever to the roasting pan, start the roasting with the breast side down after filling the cavity with 2 lemons, salt and pepper, then turning it over to finish roasting on the backside after the given time. This is one very fine roasted chicken. So simple, so delicious. Definitely using this method again and again.

To be honest, I was not sure how well we would like the leek recipe. Skeptical at best, thinking that cooking leeks for 40 minutes or longer was probably going to produce a pan of mush and we aren't all that fond of mush and overly cooked food here at the house.

Surprisingly, we really liked them cooked this way, just a touch of olive oil, salt, and pepper, and braise the heck out of them. I did taste them at about 15 minutes into it and loved them that way as well, so am thinking next time I will stop after that time frame just because I liked the texture and color a little better. That said, the recipe as written was wonderfully delicious. Braised leeks...who knew? Definitely a repeat.

If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

February 24, 2010

(Okay, I know you are all going to wonder at the way I cut roast, but it is the way my mother did it and I grew up with it this way so to me this is normal. I like to eat the long thin pieces.)

The recipes for the Cooking Italy group this past week were Pot Roast of Beef Braised in Red Wine, found on page 393-394 and Mashed Potatoes with Milk and Parmesan Cheese, Bolognese Style, found on page 518 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Guys here love a pot roast. Guys here love mashed potatoes. I can easily go with the flow on both, so today found me making these recipes knowing that the guys were going to appreciate a favorite dinner this evening.

The pot roast recipe uses beef chuck roast, onions, carrot, celery, red wine, beef broth, roma tomatoes (canned), thyme, marjoram, salt & pepper. The roast is browned and then cooked in the oven for 3 hours, pretty much like my standard roast recipe. One new technique, however, was that she had us turning the roast every 20 minutes during the cooking time (my usual recipe just has the roast unattended in the oven for that amount of time with no fussing with it at all), which turned out a very nice incredibly tender melt-in-your-mouth piece of meat with no dry spots, etc. It was delicious. In fact it was the best roast I have ever eaten.

The potatoes were easy enough to prepare (potatoes, milk, butter, parmigiano reggiano, nutmeg, salt) and will be a new go-to fairly regularly here as the additional flavor of the Parmesan cheese and a little freshly grated nutmeg is lovely. We enjoyed both of these recipes.

If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

February 17, 2010

The recipe for the Cooking Italy group this past week was Sausages and Cream Sauce, found on page 201 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

The recipe itself is quite easy: butter. oil, onion, cream, sweet Italian sausage, salt & pepper, all cooked and served over some sort of pasta with groves to soak up the sauce and let it cling a bit.

When I first read through the recipe, my first thought was that it sounded an awful lot like Hamburger Helper (with the emphasis for myself on the word "awful" as I tend not to like anything along those lines). I should preface this post by saying that when I read a recipe and it says, "add a can of cream of .... soup," that's pretty much a guarantee I am not going to make it, much less eat it. This recipe was a similar version.

The butter, the cream, the fat from the sausages...not something I would make again for sure. That said, the guys thought it was great. (I have decided that guys tend to be like that when a recipe screams "Cholesterol Poster Child's Nightmare.") I tried to get a good photo, but this is as good as it gets as this is exactly what it looked like.

I took two bites, one as a test and another to be sure that I wasn't judging it wrongly...and then Pippin and Vash had the rest of mine. I felt a little guilty feeding it to the dogs like that, and then I realized that I just fed it to my family...yikes! As I said, they loved it, so if you like a recipe like this, you might enjoy it as well. Not everyone likes/dislikes the same kinds of food.

If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

February 03, 2010

The recipe for the Cooking Italy group this week is Ciambella (Grandmother's Pastry Ring), found on page 592-593 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

The recipe itself is quite easy: butter. flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, milk, and lemon peel (and in my case I added the juice of a fourth of a lemon because my dough was a little dry as sometimes happens with differences in air temperature, brands of flour, and well, you just can't possibly ever have too much lemon, now can you?), all the ingredients are pretty much staples found in your refrigerator and pantry.

The whole mass gets stirred together, kneaded for a bit to bring it together, and then rolled into a 2 inch sausage shape, formed into a ring, placed on a baking sheet, and brushed with a little egg yolk water mixture before it heads into the oven for a 35 minute stint.

The directions say to wait until it cools to cut it, but there was no way I was waiting to cut warm lemon bread straight from the oven, nope, no patience for that...the house smelled of lemony goodness and I figured waiting was for sissies. Or something along those lines.

It's very good. Good alone. Good with lemon marmalade. Good with a little butter. Good warm. Good at room temperature. Good with tea. Or not. It's not too sweet, and has a kind of biscuit-y feel to it (probably all that baking powder), and breaks nicely into small pieces. Best of all: it's very lemony!

Definitely a winner, definitely a keeper, and yes, there will definitely still be some left when the guys come home this evening. That's the plan now anyway. Just kidding, it makes a huge ring, and I am sure you could reduce the recipe and just come up with a smaller ring, probably need to adjust the baking time if you do that, however, by just a little.

Am loving this cookbook and the recipes in it and so is my family, the recipes are easy and yet flavorful. I have learned so many techniques that produce the wonderful flavors. If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

January 13, 2010

The recipe for the Cooking Italy group this week is Shrimp with Tomatoes and Chili Pepper, found on page 303 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

The recipe itself is quite easy: the sauce starts with finely minced onions, garlic, hot chili peppers, and parsley being lightly cooked in olive oil before adding in the tomatoes and juice, simmering for about 25 minutes until the oil separates from the tomatoes (meaning the water is all cooked out). This produces the most amazing sauce, the taste is just wonderful. When it reaches this stage, you add the shrimp and cook a few minutes until they are just done, do not overcook or they will be tough.

I served it over linguine because the guys like pasta and the swimmer is always looking for pasta after a long practice. Absolutely delicious.

The book suggests serving it with crusty bread, but I made Focaccia for the BBA group, so I served it with that and it was a great choice.

Am loving this cookbook and the recipes in it and so is my family, the recipes are easy and yet so flavorful. I have learned so many techniques that produce the wonderful flavors. If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

December 07, 2009

One of the recipes for the Cooking Italy group this past month was Amatriciana - Tomato Sauce with Pancetta and Chili Pepper, found on page 157 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

The recipe itself is quite easy: boil the water for the bucatini while you begin the sauce. The sauce starts with finely minced onions being lightly cooked in the olive oil and a little butter, the pancetta is added and cooked for a short time, then finely minced hot peppers and diced tomatoes are added next, simmering for about 25 minutes.

When the pasta is cooked, you add it to the sauce and toss, giving it a further toss after you add a little freshly grated parmigiano and romano cheeses. Delicious!

Am loving this cookbook and the recipes in it and so is my family. If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

November 09, 2009

One of the recipes for the Cooking Italy group this month is Scallop Sauce with Olive Oil, Garlic, Hot Pepper, and Spaghettini, found on page 185 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

The recipe itself is quite easy: boil the water for the spaghettini while you begin the sauce. The sauce starts with finely minced garlic being lightly cooked in the olive oil, the finely minced hot pepper and parsley are added next, then the little bay scallops are added, cooking for only just a very short time so they don't toughen. Use a large pan because the pound of cooked spaghettini is then put into the pan and tossed with the sauce and some toasted breadcrumbs. Delicious!

Mark said, "I would be more than happy to eat this anytime you want to make it: it was very good." Matthew said, "Most excellent, I loved it, and I hope we have it again soon." Alex said nothing but his dish was absolutely clean down to the shine, so that in itself is high praise. Easy, quick, tasty, what more could you want? Maybe if you are a guy, seconds!

Am loving this cookbook and the recipes in it and so is my family. If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here.

October 19, 2009

This recipe for the Cooking Italy group was Sliced Potatoes Baked with Porcini and Fresh Cultivated Mushrooms, Riviera Style, found on page 522 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

I have to say that it does not look as fancy as I would have liked, but it tasted marvelous. The only thing I would change when I make it next time, is that I would use less oil. The taste of the potatoes and mushrooms together is really great, but the oil is a little too much, so I would decrease that by two-thirds next time for my family's personal taste. I like oil to be a subtle flavor, not a predominant one.

We all liked the potatoes and mushrooms cooked together like this, so will definitely make it again sometime.

September 21, 2009

This week's assignment for Cooking Italy was Pork Loin Braised in Milk Bolognese Style, found on pages 417-418 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

The recipe gives directions for using a pork loin or a pork Boston Butt (the preferred cut), so I used the Boston Butt. While the loin is probably less fatty, a good deal of the fat cooks off the meat as it simmers for 3-4 hours in milk which makes it incredibly tender. At this point, the meat is juicy and able to be "pulled" if you wish, or served in a piece to be pulled as you eat it with your knife and fork.

After the meat has simmered, ALL the fat is drained off, and in the pan are milk solids, bits of the pork, and the seasonings. 2 Tablespoons of water are added and stirred into a creamy reduction until the water evaporates.

It is impossible to make this photo look wonderful as I have no knack with photographing meat, but wonderful, it was. The meat has incredible tenderness and flavor cooked this way and the little sauce served on it is very wonderful as well. We served it with steamed broccoli, homemade rolls, and the guys ate some of a new batch of the NYT chocolate chip cookies I made for dessert. The dinner was a big hit.

I will use the rest of the meat to make pulled pork sandwiches later in the week, a favorite of Matt's.

Next week's recipe is Braised Finocchio with Butter and Parmiagiano Reggiano, found on page 503-504.

September 14, 2009

This week's assignment for Cooking Italy was Bolognese Meat Sauce, found on pages 203-205 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. We could also make the Tagliatelle pasta from scratch if we wished on page 136.

I did not have time/effort/inclination to get the pasta made as I do not have a pasta maker and I am a little unsure about my efforts of being able to make it, roll it, cut it, semi-dry it, etc., so we opted for fresh fettuccine that we purchased at the market since they did not have tagliatelle when we shopped. Someday I will try to make it from scratch, this just wasn't that day.

The sauce took about five hours to make. Of course, you weren't standing over it that long, but you would need to be able to babysit the sauce rather than just leave it.

First you saute onion, celery, carrot in a little olive oil and butter, adding in ground chuck and browning that, followed by the milk, simmering until that disappears into the meat mixture, then wine, simmering that until it disappears into the meat mixture, then the tomatoes and juice, simmering that for three hours.

OMW is this good, really really good. All those layers of flavor combine for something very special. It is served over fresh pasta with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Was it worth the five hours? YES! I will definitely make this again as it was a big hit with everyone around here.

If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tigerwhere you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

Next week's recipes is Pork Loin Braised in Milk, Bolognese Style, found on page 417.

September 07, 2009

This week's assignment for Cooking Italy was Layered Crespelle with Tomato, Proscuitto, and Cheese, found on pages 270-272 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

What fun! Crespelle are Italian crepes (the recipe is on pages 267-268). After making the Crespelle, and the tomato sauce, the rest is just a matter of assembly by layering in a 8-9 inch cake pan the 8 Crespelle one at a time with each getting a smear of sauce, a sprinkling of proscuitto, a little freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and a bit of diced fresh mozzarella. Much like layering a lasagna.

It is then baked in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, allowed to sit a few minutes, turned out of the pan by sliding it out right side up, and served on a platter to be sliced in wedges.I followed the recipe exactly and ended up with a wonderful dish, a big hit around here with everyone, especially the guys who just raved about it, asking for it again "soon." Alex asked if I would get up and make it for breakfast tomorrow before school. Request respectfully denied, but I will make it again for them all in the near future. (I made half a recipe in a 6 inch cake pan as we were also having grilled chicken and corn on the cob, so it was more of a side dish than a main dish tonight. After the meal, it was completely gone!)

If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tigerwhere you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

Next week's recipes are Bolognese Meat Sauce, found on page 203-205, and Tagliatelle, found on page 136.

August 31, 2009

This week's assignment for Cooking Italy was Sgroppino -- Venetian Lemon and Strawberry "Slush" with Sparkling Wine, found on pages 613-615.

I didn't make this week's recipe because we have been having way too many desserts around here and also this one involved alcohol, which the boys cannot have, so I decided that I would skip this week rather than just change the recipe to accommodate the boys, leaving it instead to make sometime when it is just Mark and me around.

If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tigerwhere you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

Next week's recipe is Layered Crespelle with Tomato, Proscuitto, and Cheese and can be found on page 270 of Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

August 25, 2009

In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. I made three items from this month's menu: Arrosticini Abruzzesi (Skewered Marinated Lamb Tidbits), found on page 83; Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter, found on page 152; and Potato Gnocchi, found on page 160-162. All really great recipes. Really Great.

Instead of making the marinated lamb tidbits small and appetizer size, we made them larger to use as the main protein for the meal. These marinate for a few hours in garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary (they recommended marjoram but we don't have that growing in my herb garden, and rosemary goes so well with lamb, that I decided to use that...maybe I will plant marjoram next year and give that a try) and then are skewered and grilled for 3 minutes one side, turn, and 2 on the other, really quick for a weeknight. Perfect in the timing, the seasoning, the preparation, everything.

The Tomato Sauce was excellent, very easy and quick to put together, the remainder of the time being a slow simmer for the better part of an hour. OMW Good. Simple fresh ingredients, incredible flavor. We served the tomato sauce over the homemade Potato Gnocchi.

My first time to make Gnocchi. I have eaten it once before, but by and large, I am not a lover of dumpling type things. These however, are surprisingly light little bits with that sauce clinging to them, and even with a first effort, they were very nice, and a big hit with the guys.

Mark finished with a "fabulous meal, all the flavors were really great," echoed by Matt and myself, Alex not being present for dinner that evening to cast a vote. Three for three is pretty good.

I almost skipped this lamb recipe, so I am happy that I found time to make it as it truly is one of our favorites.

If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tigerwhere you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.Next week's recipe is Sgroppino--Venetian Lemon and Strawberry "Slush" with Sparkling Wine and can be found on page 613-615.

August 10, 2009

Last week, or maybe the one before, the Cooking Italy in-house emails revealed that everyone was thinking about Minestrone, we'll actually blame David as he is from Australia and it is currently winter there, so Angela added a bonus recipe this month for just such an occasion: Minestrone alla Romagnola, found on page 85 in Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking book, for us all to make and/or post if we so desired, which I did, finding it absolutely, hands down, the best Minestrone I have ever eaten!

Would never have thought to put this combination of fried zucchini, basil, and garlic together over fettuccine as we didn't think we would like it (it's fried and it's zucchini), but my-oh-my is this a tasty and delicious recipe: buy Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Italian Cooking book, make the recipe (it's on page 167), prepare to be amazed, enjoy; because it's that good!

August 03, 2009

In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.

This week's recipe was Poached Shrimp with Olive Oil and Lemon Juice and can be found on page 65.

This was an easy recipe with lots of flavor. Boil shrimp until they float (only a couple of minutes) in a pan of water that has been boiling for 10 minutes with a carrot, a stalk of celery, wine vinegar, and salt.

Drain the shrimp, peel when still warm, devein, and allow to marinate for an hour in a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and freshly cracked black pepper. Obviously, the better the ingredients you use in all of this, the tastier the results.

The recipe suggests serving it with bread to dip into the marinade, so we did that as I had made ciabatta yesterday and despite my first efforts at ciabatta, I managed to get a few characteristic holes in the bread (more on that Sunday in the BBA post for breads).

Some steamed broccoli, a little linguine alfredo, and everyone was delighted with supper this evening. I added a little more pepper to mine as the guys are not big pepper fans.

This would be a nice appetizer served with crusty bread.

If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to

Spinach Tigerwhere you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

Next week's recipe is Fried Zucchini Sauce with Garlic & Basil and can be found on page 167, and Homemade Fettuccine, p. 134 (or store bought).

July 28, 2009

In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. This week's recipe was Zabaglione and can be found on page 598. Fruit and a pudding-like sauce, what's not to love?

In the book are two recipes, one for plain Zabaglione made with Marsala wine, and the other a cold version called Cold Zabaglione with Red Wine which was made with red wine and chilled. Zabaglione is a sort of creamy pudding-like sauce usually accompanying fruit, but sometimes cake and other things.

I made the Marsala version as I had that on hand and I think it goes nicely with cherries, which is what I had on hand for fruit. (Everyone here is getting ready to head out to various venues at various times for various things, so I figured I would use what I had on hand rather than going to the market to stock up on things that were just going to be sitting around in the next bit. I'm fairly certain any Italian Mama would approve.)

While the red wine version produces a lovely pink color, the Marsala wine (an amber color of wine) produces a lemony color of sauce which I thought went nicely with the dark red cherries. And, it tasted very nicely with those dark red cherries.

This is an easy dessert, the only tricky part being whisking egg yolks over heat for about ten minutes with the ever present fear of ending up with scrambled eggs, but I have done enough of this now with the French cooking, that the scrambled egg threat isn't so daunting anymore.

The chilled version can be made ahead and parked in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours, so if you are serving this at a dinner, you might opt for that, as I was making the version with the Marsala that was available for eating immediately after completion.

It's a tasty dish, sometimes it is nice to have just a little something with a bit of fresh fruit and this fits the bill nicely. I will do it again, and I will try the red wine chilled version when I have a bottle of the appropriate wine on the menu next.

If you would like to see Angela's lovely pink rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

Next week's recipe is Poached Shrimp with Olive Oil and Lemon Juice and can be found on page 65.

July 20, 2009

In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. This week's recipe was La Florentine Grilled T-Bone and can be found on page 385.

The recipe was simple, easy, and quick. Especially if your husband in the grill master at your house. So, I confess: I cracked the peppercorns for him and he did all the rest, which means he brought it to room temperature, seasoned it, grilled it for the times the recipe suggested, let it rest, carved it after letting it rest for 10 minutes, and served it on the plate. He did it all perfectly.

I am not sure what kind of steak is in the picture as Mark did the purchasing. I do know it was the same size and thickness that was recommended in the recipe, and some sort of version of T-Bone.

The recipe was perfectly correct in seasoning and grilling instructions, the steak finishing off rare, just the way we like it. The timing of it all was perfect.

Definitely a repeat, definitely a hit around here, definitely doing it again.

If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

July 13, 2009

In the Cooking Italy class with Angela, we are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. This week's recipe was Pasta with Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans can be found on 177-178.

We make pasta, potatoes, and green beans a lot around here, but have never before combined them together into one dish.

I have never made pesto from scratch before, and I have a wonderful basil plant growing on the deck so that seemed a fine use for a bit of it. As a rule, we are not huge fans of too much sauce...we like a little sauce, but there is a fine line around here between a little and too much, and I will say that the amount in this recipe was perfect.

Turns out making your own pesto is not at all complicated, with just a few ingredients, a nice recipe included in the book, and a food processor, one is pretty much set to go. Takes only a few minutes. Photo at left is my crazy wild basil plant that is growing on the deck this year...basil by the handfuls whenever I want it.

I liked the fact that you cooked all the ingredients separately and then combined in the end, something I have grown to appreciate with French cooking, so that was nice to find that in this recipe.

Was it a hit? It was well received, and I will probably make this again from time to time. It was a very nice choice with the menu this month.

If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling) and the recipe, you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

Next week's recipe is La Florentine Grilled T-Bone and can be found on page 385.

July 06, 2009

One of the other Whisk Chicks from Whisk Wednesdays, Angela, is Italian and loves her Italian heritage and Italy's cuisine. After seeing many of Angela's fantastic recipes on her blog, I persuaded her to begin an Italian cooking blog-along of her own (something she had been contemplating for awhile) for purely selfish reasons on my part: I have always wanted to know how to cook Italian food, as it is Mark's favorite, and so far my repertoire is limited to Spaghetti and Meatballs and Fettuccine Alfredo, both of which are fairly good and made from scratch, well, everything but the pasta that is. And, so, Cooking Italy was born.

Angela has set the agenda as one menu a month, consisting of four different dishes, with the posting requirements generally of posting one recipe a week on Mondays. We are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.

The first recipe was Tomato Bruschetta, something to warm up the appetite before the main course, and is found on pages 73-74.

Since Cathy and I are also doing (but not posting as really, there is probably too much posting going on here as it is) recipes from Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day, I decided to make the baguette I was going to use for the slices of bread for the bruschetta, the idea being that I could make it small and use thick and thin slices so people around here could have a choice: Barbie portions or not.

Made the bread, baked the bread, diced up the tomatoes, squished the garlic and rubbed it on the warm grilled bread slices, topped it with the tomatoes, salt and pepper, drizzled on a little olive oil, and finished it with a sprinkling of fresh basil from the plant on the deck. Simple, easy, and oh, so delicious!

If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling), you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

Next week's recipe is Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans and can be found on pages 177-178.